Lincolnville winery wins three 'double gold' medals in international competition

Courtesy / Cellardoor Winery

Cellardoor Winery, which has 5,000 vines of North American cold-hardy hybrid grapes at its vineyard in Lincolnville, won 18 awards at the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

by STAFF

Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville won 18 awards, including three Double Gold Medals, at the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Considered to be one of the most influential wine competitions in the world and the largest international wine competition in the United States, this year's event attracted over 4,000 entries from 31 countries.

The three Cellardoor wines winning Double Gold Medals are:

2013 Iron Gate with 99 Points

2013 Monti al Mare with 96 points

2013 Petite Sirah with 95 points.

Cellardoor also won top honors within two respective categories: Iron Gate ($30) was named Best Bordeaux Blend and Monti al Mare ($26) won Best Italian Varietal Blend.

A list of all Gold, Double Gold, and Premium Award winners will appear in the October 2017 issue of The SOMM Journal.

About Cellardoor Winery

Cellardoor Winery, nestled in a valley between Cameron and Levenseller mountains in Lincolnville, is about four miles inland from Penobscot Bay. Its 5,000 vines of North American cold-hardy hybrids are surrounded by a forest with an active wildlife population, with netting being essential to protect ripening fruit from being consumed by bears, moose, deer, to gophers and songbirds.

The vineyard was replanted in 2008 with guidance from the University of Minnesota, one of the top wine grape research programs in the United States that specialize in high-quality, cold-hardy, and disease-resistant grape varieties.

The winery's first harvest after the replanting, in 2012, yielded 4.5 tons of grapes and became Vendange, a sparkling rosť that was its first estate-grown wine. The following year, in 2013, 6.85 tons of grapes were harvested, producing both a sparkling rosť and a sparkling white, a Blanc de Blancs.

Courtesy / Cellardoor Winery

Cellardoor Winery's 2013 Iron Gate wine is one of three Double Gold Medal award winners at the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Winemaker Aaron Peet said the inspiration for the winery's Double Gold Medal-winning 2013 Iron Gate wine was a "famous 100 point Bordeaux wine."

"So it is pretty amazing to win Best Bordeaux Blend and receive 99 points for a wine made here in Lincolnville, Maine," he said in a news release. "To be awarded Best Italian Varietal Blend and 96 points for our Monti al Mare at the same competition is truly breathtaking."

Cellardoor Winery owner Bettina Doulton, an honoree in Mainebiz's 2009 Next List, said the results from the 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition "speak, scream, and dance for themselves."

"We are proud and lucky to present these wines every day to our guests," she said, noting that Cellardoor wines are served at the winery's tasting rooms in Lincolnville and at Thompson's Point in Portland.